But if director J.J. Abrams wants to bring back the original-trilogy trio, Hamill and Fisher are almost certainly on board. The question mark has always been Ford, who has spent most of his post-"Star Wars" career expressing mild-to-aggressive embarrassment about the franchise.
But Ford's feelings towards "Star Wars" have warmed in recent years. Perhaps Ford, who turned 70 last year, views "Episode VII" as a chance to burnish his reputation by returning to one of his most beloved characters. Also, money is nice.
Whatever the reason, even though the next film is still early in the development process, Ford gave a rather bold (for him) statement to Chicago's WGN-TV yesterday.'Game of Thrones' actors do theme song
When asked by reporter Dean Richards if Ford is reuniting with his original castmates for the next movie, Ford responded: "I think it's almost true."'Justified' boss tells 'Decoy' tales
He added, "I'm looking forward to it," sounding like a man who was really looking forward to his next root canal. He ultimately hedged that it's "not in the bag yet, but I think it's happening."

Harrison has tended to treat Han Solo the way Shatner used to look at Trek and his involvement in that franchise. I know Han isn't the deepest, meatiest and most three-dimensional character for an actor to tackle, but it made him a superstar and launched his movie career. Running from him is just silly.

I'm sure he gets just as much if not more attention for playing Indiana Jones after all these years, so he should just embrace Han Solo for what he was/is and be happy for the gigantic boost that the role gave his career at a very fortuitous moment in Hollywood history. He was never meant to be the most textured and challenging role in the Original Trilogy because the main focus was on Mark Hamill and Darth Vader and the films were supposed to be about the Skywalkers, not Han. I hope his involvement in Episode VII makes him at least a little more open to discussing the films and not acting as though they're some embarrassing skin flick he did back in school.

I have a hunch they are waiting to May 25th for the big announcement of Hamill, Ford, and Fisher returning in Episode VII. Why? It will be the 30th Anniversary of RETURN OF THE JEDI.

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And of course Abrams will be done with the latest Trek film - it will be out - and hopefully very successful which will add to the excitement of any such announcement.

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Exactly! You saved me the time to add that. Its the perfect timing for Disney to make their big splashy announcement. Its all but confirmed at this point. So there is no point in rushing an offical release, they might as well do it with style.

I hope the 30th anniversary of JEDI contains such an announcement. This has been the quietest anniversary year for the franchise in ages, at least when it comes to merchandising and collectibles related to the Lucas universe. Hasbro and many other manufacturers have no announced plans to recognize the anniversary of JEDI with any new and special releases (unlike the 20th, 25th and 30th anniversaries of the other two films in the Original Trilogy), so it'd be very nice indeed if Disney and Lucasfilm took advantage of the date and made some grand press announcement about Episode VII and the cast.

Do something Star Wars related, even if it doesn't have much if anything to do with JEDI.

Well, yeah, obviously. I just meant if they don't want to verbally acknowledge the anniversary by mentioning JEDI during any press announcement about the new film. Chances are they would though. Far too many fans know the original release date of Episode VI back in 1983 and realize the significance of May 25th for both JEDI and the original movie.

The only bit of merchandise coming out (that I'm aware of) to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Return of the Jedi is the Making of ROTJ book by J.W. Rinzler later this year. If it's anything like the ones for ANH and Empire, it's going to be a must-read.

The only bit of merchandise coming out (that I'm aware of) to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Return of the Jedi is the Making of ROTJ book by J.W. Rinzler later this year. If it's anything like the ones for ANH and Empire, it's going to be a must-read.

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Well if they only do come out with one thing, that would by far be my first choice.

Thrawn can appear, if Han Solo can just gun him down out of the blue while he's delivering a monologue, about art or something. Sorta like the Star Wars version of the scene in Raiders when Indiana shoots the swordsman with the revolver.

Same with me. I love the his books for ANH and ESB. Plus I was 5 years old when JEDI came out. Its the first movie I remember seeing in the theater. All my school supplies for knidergarten where for the movie. So its always been the one i have the most affection for.

Throw in a few EU characters. Some of them are very interesting and fun, Thrawn in particular. If there's one villain from the post-Jedi novels I don't mind assuming a major role in the new Trilogy it's Thrawn, but rest assured that if he appears the continuity will go a lot differently from what we're familiar with in the Zahn books.

And hell, if we're going to have Thrawn, let's also see some Imperial Missile Boats while we're at it. In Tie Fighter, given just one of those with a reload tender and stand-off opportunity, any and all opposing units were utterly toast.